Bael & Dagon



Bael (バエル) and Dagon (ダゴン) are large, toad-like ice demons representing an unnamed species in Devil May Cry 4. They make their lair in the courtyard of Fortuna Castle, atop the snowy Lamina Peaks. Nero encounters Bael in Mission 4: Cold Blooded, and Dante battles Dagon in Mission 15: Cold Blooded.

Description
Bael and Dagon's species has toad-like bodies, and they possess two angler fish-like glowing feelers known as Rusalka which resemble young, nubile women, and can speak. These are used to entice human prey, but they can also defend themselves and freeze the prey. They have a highly vulnerable tongue, and though they are capable of shrouding their bodies in a special gas that turns them invisible, however, their potent body odor gives them away. The Bael variant is colored white and has blue Rusalka, while the Dagon variant is colored green and has red Rusalka.

Story


Some time before the start of the game, a Bael emerges from the Fortuna Castle Hell Gate in the Central Courtyard, and its influence shrouds the castle in a blizzard. Nero first encounters its Rusalkas and recognizes them as demons, and after fighting them for a short while, the Bael appears. Nero manages to defeat the Bael and rip off one of its Rusalka's, which his Devil Bringer absorbs. The dying Bael threatens that his brothers will come, and Nero soon sees six Dagons about to emerge from the gate. However, he is able to rush to the gate and deactivate it in time.

Later, a Dagon emerges from the gate, and freezes much of the castle in ice. Dante also encounters its Rusalka's in the Central Courtyard, where he flirts with them, but he too notices the actual demon, insulting it by crediting this to its stink. He fights and defeats the demon, slicing it in two as it turns to ice and shatters. He then takes the Pandora which was powering the Hell Gate, and uses it to slaughter the escaped Dagons and destroy the gate.

Background
Ba'al is Semetic title meaning "master" or "lord" applied to many local deities which the Hebrews considered demons. The title is also used as part of the name of the Philistine deity Beelzebub. Early demonologists came to regard the multiple uses of the title within the Bible as referring a singular demon, and depicted it as a hybrid of man, cat, and toad, named Bael. According to the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, it spoke with a harsh voice and taught the art of invisibility.

Dagon was a major god of the Amorites, Philistines, and Phoenicians, and was considered a demon by the Hebrews. It was typically depicted as a man-fish hybrid.

A Rusalka is a type of Slavic ghost which tries to seduce men in order to trick them into drowning, much like nymphs.

Trivia

 * The Gobul in Monster Hunter Tri is essentially the same creature as Bael and Dagon, a mix of anglerfish and toad.